Frank Rich is perhaps the New York Times' worst regular columnist. A homosexual activist and former drama critic, he substitutes a hysterical and abusive style for knowledge of public policy issues, of which he displays little or none. Even more than Paul Krugman, he can fairly be described as Keith Olbermann in print.

In his current column, Rich describes the state of the Union as "comatose." If you keep reading, you'll figure out that this means the hard Left isn't advancing its agenda as successfully as Rich would like.

His take on President Obama's State of the Union speech is characteristically belligerent:

Hands down, the State of the Union's big moment was Barack Obama's direct hit on the delicate sensibilities of the Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The president was right to blast the 5-to-4 decision giving corporate interests an even greater stranglehold over a government they already regard as a partially owned onshore subsidiary. How satisfying it was to watch him provoke Alito into a "You lie!" snit.